Tristan's costume!

yep his Bam Bam costume looks awesome!!

the back

the front

I just love his costume!

Here's him last year: 

-Karen

22 Months!

I can't believe we have 2 more months til he's 2! 

Here's Tristan this time last year: 

*Look at his chubby face!*

Favorite things:

• pop bottle caps
• pop bottles
• Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog
• Hercules
• Kung Fu Panda
• toy cars
• books
• cell phones
• blocks

Sleeping: He now sleeps from 9pm-7 or 8am. Plus occasionally waking up in the middle of the night and climbing into mommy and daddy's bed.

Favorite foods:

• chicken
• crackers
• Gerber cereal bars
• Eggo waffles
• pancakes
• french fries
• mac and cheese
• potatoes
• pineapple
• chocolate chips
• green beans
• bread
• tomatoes

Teeth: He has 14 teeth and 2 more coming in!

Clothes: Tristan is currently in 3t and some 4t clothes and size 6-7 shoes. 

             We're still deciding things for his birthday party. Chris has a huge family so it's impossible to plan a small party.

-Karen

My 5 favorite things about this week

1. My IUD was removed Wednesday. Well yea, it means going on the pill which sucks but it's a good thing because now I won't have 2-4 week long periods due to the iud, and that is awesome.


2. Watching Tristan crawl through a little toy tunnel at his Little Lambs program. He was a "community helper".

3. Learning to use a sewing machine again. S and I worked on Tristan's Bam Bam costume. It looks awesome so far!


4. Watching the Big Bang Theory!


5. Hearing Tristan tell little "I" to stop and to "shh" when little "I" was crying


I would have more but this week was pretty long and stressful. Let's hope this weekend and next week go better. Monday is trick or treating. Enjoy your weekends!




-Karen

When family interferes...

                So just a few minutes ago, I just got off the phone with my grandma and I'm irritated. First we were talking about Tristan's Halloween costume and then I told her that I had decided to stop the potty training for now (still planning on putting him on the potty occasionally but I'm not going to be constantly forcing him on it). Well she had a fit. Apparently I'm being too lenient about potty training. Seriously? I don't think so. Right now he just doesn't care anymore (he used to let me know when he needed changed and now he doesn't). It doesn't help that I just recently started babysitting K and I and Tristan comes with me and sometimes I babysit at night too. So he's already stressed about being in a new place and sleeping in an unfamiliar bed so I'm not stressing him out further. And she said "Well if you stop now, it'll take him even longer to be potty trained. He's almost 2." So what?? Some kids don't get the hang of it till 3 or 4. 


             This isn't even the first time I've had family try to step in. Chris's father is always trying to tell me what I should and shouldn't be doing with Tristan. He gets upset when he sees Tristan with toys that are for kids older than him (he loves toy phones and cameras), he has me feed Tristan when we're there for fear of messes, he got upset apparently the other day when Tristan peed on his carpet, etc. Tristan is my child, I know him better than anyone else. Why do family members always have to try and force you to do things their way??

-Karen

Toggle Along Tuesday: Milestones

It's Toggle Along Tuesday and the topic today is Milestones...

On Christmas day, Tristan started walking on his own! I chose this milestone because it was the coolest Christmas gift we got last year :).

-Karen

This weekend: the good, the bad, and the adorable

So this weekend was a mainly babysitting free weekend (except sunday night) so I took the time to relax as much as I could. Saturday was gamer night at Chris's dad's house so we went over like usual. Tristan and I spent most of our time with S (Chris's stepmom) watching the Big Bang Theory episode from Thursday and watching S finishing sewing her curtains. Tristan decided to be cranky after awhile so I got him bathed. Well I brought him out of the bathroom in his towel to see his grandma (not normal because usually they tell me to make sure he's dressed before coming out of there) and he went over to his grandma's sewing machine to look at it and I was in the middle of telling him to come over to me so I could put his diaper on when... he peed. On the carpet. Right next to the pedal for grandma's sewing machine. *sigh* We got the carpet cleaned up and Tristan diapered and dressed and then finished getting him ready for bed. 


On Sunday, Tristan and I went to the pumpkin patch with K, I, and their mom. It went... bad. Tristan kept getting frustrated when we tried leaving the animals. He loved all the animals there and was constantly trying to feed them. Then for the hay ride, He wouldn't stay sitting and if I tried to make him sit, he screamed. Afterwards, he picked himself a little gourd and we left (quickly!). We did manage a few decent pictures though...

 watching the goats

 looking at the little ducklings

 Tristan and the kids playing

little man "I" was petting the bunny

So how was everyone's weekend?

*On a side note: Today when I was walking home from the store with Tristan I saw 2 things that irritated me. 

1. A woman was driving with a toddler in his car seat in the front seat
2. A woman wasn't even paying attention when she was turning and almost hit me and Tristan!!!!

-Karen

Wordless Wednesday- the kids

*Tristan and the kids while babysitting*

-Karen

Sour Cream Pork Chops

So tonight our dinner was Sour Cream Pork Chops with Mashed Potatoes and Corn. This is a huge favorite at our house so I thought I'd post the recipe.

First, brown pork chops (I only made 4) with seasonings in a frying pan (I try different seasonings each time, this time I did Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion salt, and peppercorn). Preheat oven at 400 degrees.

Then, place pork chops in a casserole dish with 2 cups boiling water and 2 chicken bouillon cubes. Cook in oven for 30 minutes. 

*During this time you can worry about your sides. Mashed potatoes and egg noodles are really good with this*

Once pork chops are done, pour chicken bouillon/ water mixture into a pot with 1 8oz container of sour cream and 2 tablespoons of flour, use a whisk at first to mix it up and avoid lumps. Then cook on high for 5 min. 

Once sour cream sauce is done, pour over pork chops in the casserole dish and then serve with your sides.

*YUMMMM*

*Also here is the link to the original recipe in case you'd like to try that one too (it's a crock pot recipe): http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sour-cream-pork-chops/detail.aspx

-Karen

My son's choice of movie...

So most kids love Mickey Mouse, Sesame Street, etc... well my son loves those but what he loves most is...

This is one of mine and my fiance's favorite movies and as it turns out... Tristan loves it too. He'll be playing in his room and the second he hears Neil Patrick Harris start talking... he's right there watching it and trying to sing along with the music. It's so cute! Best part is... he did this at grandpa's too and grandpa didn't know he'd seen it before. What nerds we all are!

-Karen

A year ago...

It's Flashback Friday, here's little man this time last year...

Age: 9 months

Weight: 22lbs

Height: 29in

-Karen

Pumpkins, apples, and festivals

So this weekend was our city's Appleumpkin Festival. Tristan and I went with some friends first to the apple orchard where we went on a hayride, which Tristan sat perfectly still for and loved.

Then we went to the festival and walked around. We went over to the crafts stand and my best friend decided to make Tristan a crown which he actually wore the whole time.

Then we went and decorated Tristan's first pumpkin! I decided that instead of doing a face on it, I'd put a little tag on it.

And then of course we went home... and he was asleep from all the excitement. How was your weekend?

-Karen